Orton's booking is the only real problem with him these days, and even that's a lot better (he lost clean at three consecutive PPVs there a couple of months ago). He consistently puts out great and varied matches (he takes the time to switch up his moveset and have them done in more creative ways, there's no autopilot Cena Combo here) with pretty much all his opponents and makes some truly hilarious faces doing so.
I suppose the Viper gimmick is pretty lame, it's like a declawed heel Austin from 2001 (only as a face) with the PG restriction, but there's no longer any way to turn him heel, so there's not a lot they can do about that. The real Orton is a lot more entertaining and charming than the slow talking Viper gimmick, so if he's to be a face for the forseeable future it really would be better to let him be himself more.
Yeah after that one interview and all the great matches he's put on I'm an orton fan. Really would be nice to see him not be a generic face like Punk currently is.